Hail-plate feeding



P. A. WILBUR.

Nail Machine.

2 SheetsSheet 1.

N0. .5938. Patented Oct. 21, 1856.

PERRY A. VVILBUR, OF NEW CASTLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

NAIL-PLATE FEEDING.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,938, dated October 21, 1856.

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERRY A. WILBUR, of New Castle, in the county of Lawrence and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nail- Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part thereof, in which Figurel represents a perspective view of the entire machine. Fig. 2 represents in perspective a portion of the machine, with the cutting jaw removed, to show the parts underneath it. Fig. 3 represents a vertical longitudinal section through the machine. Fig. 4 represents a top plan. Fig. 5 represents on an enlarged scale, a longitudinal section through the tubular nail plate feeder, showing the follower in full. Fig. 6 represents a transverse section through the said tube, and Fig. 7 represents, de-

crating the nail plate feeder.

'Similar letters where they occur in the several figures denote like partsin all.

To enable others skilled in the art. to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings.

A represents a-shaft suitably supported, at or near one end of the machine, in pillow blocks B, B; said shaft having upon it a pulley 0, around which an endless band driven by any first mover may pass, to give motion to the machine, D being a fly or balance wheel on the shaft to steady its mo:

tion. Upon the shaft A, are properly dis: posed seven cams, marked respectively 1, 2,

3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (all of which may be seen in Fig. 4,) whose particular functions will be mentioned in connection with the parts. which they operate; and upon the extreme end of the shaft A, from the pulley C, is affixed a spur wheel E, which takes into, and gives motion to a gear wheel F, below it, arranged on a shaft G, which shaft also carries a cam H, for rocking or turning the nail plate feeder, as will be hereafter described.

From the above described parts, all the varied movements for feeding, cutting, gripping, heading, and delivering the finished nail are had. i

Of the feecZing.An inclined frame I, supported at the front end by an upright 9 :J, and at its other end by the main frame K of the machine, has upon it an adjustable iframe L, which can move laterally thereon lin proper ways. Upon the frame L, is a :carriage M, which has connected to it a irack N which said rack meshes with a long pinion M on a shaft P, sup-ported'in the 1 permanent frame I. The long pinion M receives its motion by a falling weight Q,

which is connected by a cord or chain a, to

the pulley R, on the end of said shaft P. iThe object of the long pinion M is to 1 admit of the lateral adjustment of the upper frame L, and carriage M, and still keep the straight rack N, in gear with the pinion. The lateral adjustment of the carriage is for the purpose of increasing or diminishing the head or point, or both, of the blank, and thus make the machine capable of turning 3 out nails of-varied shapes and sizes, without 5 changing the cutting, gripping, and heading 3 dies.'

tached, portions of the machinery for op- 2 S, is a hollow tube, supported in boxes or bearings T, T, in which it may freely turn. lThe shape of the interior of the tube S, is clearly seen in Figs. 6 and 7, it being circu- 1 lar at the center, through which circular portion a follower U, passes, to force down the nail plate which lies in the slotted sides I), b, of said opening. The tube S, maybe "of suflicient length to take in two, three, or :more nail plates at a time, so that by one following the other closely, without any ;other holder than the tube itself, the whole of the nail plate will be fed up. The upper end of the follower U, is connected by a dead eye to the crossrod 0, which rod forms a part of the carriage M, and the carriage and follower are slid down along the frame by the turning of the long pinions M which turning is done by the falling weight hereto-fore mentioned.

It is obvious that, without any other contrivance than those mentioned, there would be a continuous feeding of the nail plate, as

there would be nothing to check the falling Y of the weight Q. Now a continuous feed would be in urious inasmuch as time must be given to the machine to perform the other necessary operations in forming a nail. At a particular time, therefore, in the action of the machine (which will be explained in connection with the rotation of the nail plate feeder), a long arm or pawl V, which is operated from the cam 3, on the shaft- A, takes into a ratchet wheel W (Figs. 3, 4,) which ratchet is also on the same shaft 1?, with the falling weight, pulley, and long pinion, and turns said shaft backward slightly, and mo mentarily holds it back, and then again releases itself, to allow the feed to take place, as the cam recedes from the pawl, and thus the feed is made intermittent.

Permanently, or adjustably attached to the tube S, is a partially cogged wheel X, with which, a cogged segment Y, pivoted at (Z to the frame I meshes. The segment Y, has an arm 6, upon it, to which, by a wrist pin 7, is attached, one end of a connecting rod Z, the other end of said rod being attached to a lever g, pivoted to the frame at it, the rear end of said lever 9, being forked and straddling the periphery of the cam H, heretofore described; or the lever 9, may have a friction roll in its end, which may run in a cam groove on H, the object being to vibrate the segment Y, and through it to turn the tube S, half around at stated intervals, and then back again, so as to take the blanks from the plate, head and point alternately, in the customary Way.

The box or bearing T, for the rear sup- ,port of the tube S, is placed on the frame L,

or a pillow block a, raised thereon, and the box or hearing T, for supporting its forward end, is arranged in a slot 7', made in the transverse bar is, which transverse bar is connected to the ends of two side levers Z, which are pivoted near their centers as at m, to the frame of the machine. The rear ends of the two side levers Z, pass under the cams 1, 7 which are the extreme outside cams on the shaft- A, so that every revolution of the cam shaft A, raises up, and, lowers the forward end of the tube S, to remove it from its previous proximity to the cutting jaw, and to aid in checking the feeding forward of the nail plate at improper intervals. By sliding the box or bearing T, in its slot j, in a lateral direction, the angle at which the nail plate approaches or passes under the cutting die or jaw is varied, and thus more or less head or point is given to the blank and nail.

The after portions of the levers Z, Z, rest upon spring bearers n, n (better seen in Fig. 1), for the purpose of raising up those ends after they have been pressed down by their cams, or to keep them in contact with said cams; and to cause the levers to move in a perfectly true position, they may be further provided with arms or slides 0 .,(Fig. 1,) which move between guides 79,

attached to the frame, for a purpose to be presently described.

To give the nail plates some little friction in'the tube S, just suflicient to keep them from moving except by the positive feeding of the machinery, the points 9, of said tube, may close slightly upon the nail plate, the facility of doingthis being arrived at by slitting the end of said tube, and giving to each part thereof a yielding, or spring motion, or, the spring for doing this may be within the tube itself.

The levers Z, Z, and consequently the tube S (for it is connected to them), have been described as having a rising and falling motion, and only so much of the mechanism as will give them that motion hasbeen described. But it is necessary that the tube, besides its rising and falling, and semi-r0 tating movements, should have another motion, viz: a forward and backward motion, for the purpose, as before stated, of making the machine adaptable to the production of larger and smaller sized nails, even to spikes, and of giving the nail plate all the manipulations, heretofore given to it in hand feeding, the raising and thrusting forward, as by hand, being essential to the perfect working of the machine. To give,

therefore, the forward and backward motion to the tube S, a cam slot, is made in each lever, where their pivoting pins m, pass through them, and, as seen in Fig. 1, the slide 0, on the ends of said levers, are rounded off, and stand at such inclination with their guides p, as to give said levers, a motion in the direction of their length, at the same time that they are rising and falling in a vertical direction the slots at their fulcra, admitting of this longitudinal motion. Simply turning the nail plate by machinery, has not added economy in the making of nails, for although well known, it has by no means come into general use. There has always been a superiority in hand feeding, because there were certain manipulations connected with it, which no machinery heretofore essayed could follow. My object has been to follow the peculiarities of hand feeding, by mechanism, so as to produce the same beneficial effect, as is due to hand feeding, and enlarge the capacity of the machine for different sized nails.

The peculiarities of the feeding apparatus having been fully described, and represented, I will now proceed to describe the cutting, gripping, heading and delivery apparatus.

Upon the block 1, (Fig. 3,) is placed one of the shear or cutting blades 8; and upon the movable block or stock t, is placed the other shear blade or cutter a, which works past the stationary blade 8; and behind the blade u, adjustably united to the stock If, is the gage o, for regulating the width of the blank to be cut from the nail plate. The stock 25, is pivoted, or hung by its journals, in the pillow blocks w w, and there is connected to it a lever 00, extending rearward. and held to the cam 6, by a spring y, so that the blade a, shall be forced down by the cam, and raised up by the spring. This severs the blank from the nail plate, and while the succeeding operations are going on, but which follow each other in rapid succession, the tube is drawn back, raised up, and turned over, the feed having been checked, and then comes forward, with the feed apparatus in motion for the next cut.

The blank having been severed from the nail plate, is caught by the movable gripping jaw 2, and jammed up, and tightly held, against the stationary jaw 8, (Fig. 3,)

while it is being headed. The gripping aw e, is made adjustable in its stock 9 by a set screw 10, so as to adapt it to the catching and holding of different sized blanks. The shaft or stock 9, that holds and operates the gripping jaw a, is hung by its journals to the frame underneath the cutting apparatus, and the lever or arm (g) which is a part thereof, extends rearward, and. is held to the arm 4, by a spring 11, so that the gripper shall'receive its motions from said cam and spring. I

lVhile the blank is thus held in the gripping jaws, the heading tool 12, is brought up against the blank and forms the head thereon. The heading tool 12, is connected to, and made adjustable in, the heading lever 13; and the heading lever is held against the cam 5, on shaft A,by a spring 14, (Fig. 2,) so as to give it its motion, which is a compound onethe cam 5, having a double throw viz.: one vertically and at the same'time a lateral one, said cam being a frust-um of a cone in shape, and eccentrically arranged on the shaft A. The heading lever has upon it two arms 15, standing at right angles to its general longitudinal direction, and by these arms 15,

said lever is hung to the frame of the machine. The axis of motion of said lever is nearly parallel with its longitudinal direction, and at right angles to the axis of motion of both the cutting and gripping levers. The nail being completed, and the gripping jaw a, drawn back, a delivering arm 16, hung to a vertical rock shaft 17 is forced forward by a lever 18 which extends back to a spring 19, to which it is united, and said spring 19, is operated by the cam 2 on the shaft A, so that at proper intervals and as regularly as the nail is finished, it is thrown out of the grippers by said arm 16.

A crank handle 20, (Fig. l) may be arranged in the ratchet wheel W, for running back the carriage M, and the follower U, when it becomes necessary to replenish the tube, with nail plates.

Having thus fully described the nature of my invention, what I claim therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. Giving to the tubular nail plate feeder its rising and falling, semi-rotating, and forward and backward movements, substantially in the manner, and for the purpose 7 herein set forth.

2. I also claim the lateral adjustability of the nail plate feeder, to change the angle at which the nail plate approaches or passes under the cutting die, for the purpose of giving more or less head or point to the nail, while said feeder continues to receive its multiple motion, as set forth.

PERRY A. WllLBUR,

Witnesses: J. C. RICHARDSON, G. L. MORGAN. 

